Vancouver’s Indian Summer Festival is a festival featuring music, art, and public speaking events by Canadian, South Asian and Indigenous artists in July.
It’s a multi-day arts festival that brings together artists, writers and thinkers from across Canada and abroad. Some of the festival’s events are free, while others are ticketed.
So many events happen in Metro Vancouver in July. Other festivals taking place around the same time as the Indian Summer Festival most years include the Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Festival, Carnaval del Sol Latin festival, and Harrison Festival of the Arts. There are also a couple of very interesting Indigenous events. The Whey-ah-Wichen Canoe Festival and Squamish Nation Youth Pow Wow both take place on Vancouver’s North Shore.
See our July Calendar of Events to learn about other things happening this month. Continue reading to learn about the Indian Summer Festival.
The Indian Summer Festival in Vancouver
Last year’s Indian Summer Festival (ISF) ran from Friday, July 4th, until Sunday, July 13th. Organizers are to confirm the 2026 dates. The theme last year was “Borderless Solidarities.” There were around 15 different in-person events, including talks, dance and live music performances. You’ll find details about a couple of the events below.
A Raucous Evening with Kiran Deol
One of the featured events of the 2025 festival was A Raucous Evening with Kiran Deol. The stand-up comedian performed jokes about politics, identity, modern life and other topics. The event was hosted by Charlie Demers and the opening act was a sitar performance by Mohamed Assani.
The two-hour show began at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, July 8th. It was held at the Vancouver Playhouse, located at 600 Hamilton Street in Vancouver. Tickets started at about $50 per person.
Indian Summer Sounds
Indian Summer Sounds is an evening of free music presented in collaboration with Vancouver Civic Theatres. It’s part of their Summer Sounds series that takes place in the plaza outside Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
On Thursday, July 10th last year, there were performances by Sejal Lal, Jody Okabe, kraKIN and Surya Brass. The entertainment kicked off at 5:00 pm and ran until around 7:30 pm. This event was free and open to the public.
Other Information
Check out the Indian Summer Festival website for more information about this festival.
The BC Gin Festival is a fundraising event for the Indian Summer Festival. The alcohol-themed event happens on February 28th, 2026.
See Vancouver’s July Calendar or click Festivals & Events to learn about other events that take place at other times and places.
(Note: Musicians appearing in the photo at the top of the article are Amarjeet Singh and Baljit Singh.)
Other articles that might be of interest include the following:
- Vancouver on a Budget
- Vancouver Summer Activities
- History and Culture in the Lower Mainland
- Vancouver Shows and Entertainment
